Femininity has socially defined the female. This ideal merely constitutes a series of cultural interpretations of the female sex, but when produced by and for a patriarchal philosophy it promotes prejudice and objectification. Centrally manifesting as a segregation of the social and private spheres, this concept expands to form ‘the spaces of femininity’ (Pollock, 1988, p.66), to which this practice seeks to challenge.

The artworks recognise the efforts of feminism’s past waves to revolt against the prescription of femininity for women. However, upon moving into a new wave that benefits from these triumphs, many women now aim to determine whether femininity can be performed with a feminist intent. After all, a feminism that advocates how women should not perform their gender interpretation is just as problematic as the prescriptions of the patriarchy. Therefore, this series considers how the acceptance of femininity can also contest oppression by exploring the possibility of a female feminine agent. The disruption of the gaze, the alteration of the subject object relationship and the use of satire combine to realise this possibility.